Ignition delay studies on hydrocarbon fuel with and without additives

Summary

Single pulse shock tube facility has been developed in the High Temperature Chemical Kinetics Lab, Aerospace Engineering Department, to carry out ignition delay studies and spectroscopic investigations of hydrocarbon fuels. Our main emphasis is on measuring ignition delay through pressure rise and by monitoring CH emission for various jet fuels and finding suitable additives for reducing the delay. Initially the shock tube was tested and calibrated by measuring the ignition delay of C₂H₆-O₂ mixture. The results are in good agreement with earlier published works. Ignition times of exo-tetrahdyrodicyclopentadiene (C₁₀H₁₆), which is a leading candidate fuel for scramjet propulsion has been studied in the reflected shock region in the temperature range 1250 - 1750 K with and without adding Triethylamine (TEA). Addition of TEA results in substantial reduction of ignition delay of C₁₀H₁₆.